Page 6 - Wallingford Magazine Issue 56 Autumn 2025

Tracing
by Bobbie Borne

History
the

of Your House

Readers of my articles in this magazine know that I am fascinated by Wall-
ingford’s old houses. In past issues I’ve featured various well-known dwell-
ings including the Beadle House on South Main Street; the Mansfield House
which once stood on North Main Street; the Becroft House on North Main;
the Old Stone House on Williams Road; the former Oakdale Tavern on Hart-
ford Turnpike; and others. I enjoy locating details about the house itself as
well as information about the families who occupied these places, and by ex-
tension, the history of Wallingford as it relates to the house and time period.
I am currently working on an article about one of Wallingford’s oldest, and most significant houses; but since I couldn’t meet
the deadline for publication, it will have to wait for the next issue. In the meantime though, since people frequently ask me how
I find out about old houses and inhabitants, what sources I use, and can they find details about their own homes, I decided to
share information for anyone interested in learning more about this topic.

“We just bought an old house in town and would like to find information about its history.” This was a common question during
my time as Information Librarian at Wallingford Public Library. Upon hearing this I was always torn because I knew that these
new homeowners probably expected me to go to the “old house shelf” and hand them books or folders full of articles, photos,
and juicy facts about their building. In reality, this scenario almost never occurred. But based on my experience in the Library
and elsewhere, I know the following sources can be useful and lead people to a fuller understanding of the place they call
home.

Wallingford Public any information on what most house
Library Materials researchers are looking for: an early Vic-
torian on Church Street, a Queen Anne
on Ivy, a charming bungalow on North
GENERAL LIBRARY SOURCES
Tracing the history of a house is a re- Main, a stately Greek Revival down-
search project and anyone pursuing town, a mid-century modern in East
it should view the work as an exciting Wallingford, or a residence built in re-
challenge. Exactly how much and what cent decades.
sort of information can be gleaned var-
ies widely. An overview of the topic and SPECIFIC LIBRARY MATERIALS
suggestions for beginning the search ABOUT WALLINGFORD
can be found in the following sources: The Library offers other sources (some
LIBRARY HOUSE FILES of which are on microfilm) that are spe-
Discovering the History of Your The Wallingford Library maintains a col- cific to Wallingford and contain informa-
House and Your Neighborhood, lection of files on a few of the historic tion helpful in local house research:
by Betsy J. Green. houses in town. They contain miscella- Bill Stevens Relates: Articles from the
House Histories: A Guide to Tracing neous newspaper articles, photographs, Wallingford Post--Feb. 14, 1952 to
and other memorabilia that has been
the Genealogy of Your Home, compiled over the years. The houses in Feb. 2, 1956, by Bill Stevens. Interest-
by Sally Light. these files are significant for their archi- ing descriptions of local businesses,
Tracing the History of Your House, tecture, former inhabitants, age, and/or personalities, residences—their past
and present (to 1956).
by Nick Barrett. (Amazon) other characteristic of importance that
“Tracing Your Home’s History” has generated interest and coverage; City Directories from 1883-present
(listings by name, and often by ad-
e.g., the Royce House on North Main
by Gregory LeFever, Early American Street; the Samuel Parsons and Samu- dress).
Life, Feb 2006, pg. 64-69. el Street Houses on South Main Street;
www.thoughtco.com/house-histo- the Franz Milcke, Medad Munson, and History of Wallingford, Connecticut,
1670-1956, by Clara Booth Newell.
ry-research-1421676 a primer for Porter Cooke houses on North Elm; the Thorough coverage of the history of
getting started on your research. Barker House on Clintonville Road; and Wallingford and its people, including
others. But these files do not contain houses.

6 WALLINGFORD MAGAZINE - AUTUMN 2025